


Trying to Mend

by still_lycoris



Category: Firefly
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Mental Instability, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 11:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9121297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_lycoris/pseuds/still_lycoris
Summary: Simon hopes that he can bring River back to who she once was.





	

Simon peered into the room and saw that River was quietly playing with shreds of paper.

The sight made him feel cold. Once, River had always been ... active. Making amazing things, creating, having ideas. When they’d played together, it was almost always her that had the ideas. Almost always her that had suggested the next step. Sometimes, it had been so annoying, being around her. He’d been almost glad when she went away because at least he wouldn’t always have to be corrected by his baby sister.

Now he missed that. Now he looked at her and she was ... broken.

“River. How are you?”

“Intricate threads form a latticework. Hold surprisingly heavy things in their grip.”

Which wasn’t really an answer, although Simon liked to think it was vaguely positive. He moved to sit next to her.

“What are you doing?”

She gave him the withering look that she sometimes did when she thought he was being stupid and for a moment, that was his River, his little sister but it was a different River, a River that didn’t make sense.

“I’m a disappointment. Broken doll goes to the factory to be fixed but everybody can see the patches,” she said quietly.

“No,” Simon said. He put his arm around her. “No, you’re not, you ... you’re sick right now. Things are different, we both need time to readjust, to get used to things. I’m sorry, I’m not ... you’re not broken.”

“Am. Bits of me are all come to part. Fragments, like a broken mirror. Seven years bad luck.”

“You don’t believe in that,” Simon said. “And neither do I. You’re going to be fine, River. You know, when you break a bone, the place is heals is often the strongest. You’re going to heal stronger and better than ever.”

River blinked at him. Then she lifted up the shreds of paper that she’d been working with and pulled them open, revealing an intricate skeletal web of a paper.

“River, that’s beautiful!”

She smiled at him, a wide, happy smile and it was nearly like being in front of her again, maybe a different her but her all the same. He smiled back and put his hand on shoulder. 

He was going to find her. And somehow, no matter how, he would bring her back. 

He would never let go of his little sister.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12dayschristmas 2016


End file.
